If I were a machine, how many watts would I be?

Dr.Hakan Tetik
Feb 22
2 min read

While driving my electric vehicle last week, I asked myself a strange but, I think, instructive question: "If I were a machine, how many watts would I be?"

I did a simple calculation. The average person expends 2000–2500 kcal of energy per day. That's approximately 100 watts of continuous power . Now consider an electric vehicle; it consumes an average of 8–10 kWh of energy per day. That's about 400 watts of average daily power . While driving, it can exceed 50,000 watts. Technically, the vehicle is more powerful than us. But I think the issue isn't about power.

The machine produces energy.

Humans direct energy.

Next Generation Leader = Leader who can manage Watts

The new generation leader is not someone who works harder. Nor is it someone who has more energy. The new generation leader is someone who can strategically focus their energy where it is needed.

Many leaders are distributing their 100 watts.

Continuous meeting
Perpetual email
Continuous reactive decisions

But when the critical moment arrives, it can't turn on the 1000 watts.

This is where the new generation of leaders makes a difference.

It knows when to slow down.
It knows when to speed up.
He uses his energy not for everyone/everything, but for what is most important.

A Lesson from Electric Vehicles

Electric vehicles do two things well:

It doesn't waste energy.
It produces instant torque when needed.

This is how the new generation of leaders are. They aren't constantly busy, but they are strong when needed. Constantly being busy isn't leadership. Focusing intensely on priorities at the right time is leadership.

Indeed, the things that drain leaders' energy are clear: lack of clear priorities, ease of procrastination, avoidance of difficult conversations, and the effort to control everything. However, energy is not depleted by too much work, but by being wasted in the wrong places.